A What If World
by Mistress of Dreamz
Summary: Lily, James, Harry and their daughter Kathleen are living in the Wizarding world one without Voldemort. What problems ensue when Kathleen starts Hogwarts, Harry is made Prefect and the Marauder Era flashbacks come alive? We'll find out...
1. Author's Ramblings

**AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS…**

Now, if you read my profile (which I'm sure you didn't – no worries though) you'll have noticed that I tend to ramble a bit to tell you the history of these stories. Well, not so much the history, but more the reason and the background information, just so you're not lost. So here's what you need to know…

-- As much as I have bruised myself by saying this, you honestly need to forget the major plots of the current, running, Harry Potter books in order to understand this Fan-Fic. You'll see why in number two.

-- Some things don't happen here, or they happen at different times. As an example, Harry does NOT go to retrieve the Philosopher's (or Sorcerer's) stone, he does NOT battle the basilisk, he does NOT have the whole "Prisoner of Azkaban deal," he does NOT compete in the Triwizard Tournament (it doesn't even happen, actually) and he does NOT study Occlumency and find number 12, Grimauld Place, etc, etc. No, it is NOT a boring story. Honestly it isn't. It's its own story.

-- Like I said before, things might happen at different times, so PLEASE don't hate me if I make something that happened in Book 3 happen here in Year 5. Please don't. It's supposed to be spaced out a bit… okay?

-- If any of you are confused about something that's going on… I REALLY need you to review or email/message me to tell me. I honestly don't want you – or any other readers – to be confused. I plan for this to be a bit long.

**Now for an explanation…**

This story is based entirely off the question, "What if?" This is basically what would have happened if there was no Voldemort, no hiding, no death, no scar, no prophecy. This story is basically the fairy-tale land with its own ups and downs and problems to face – without the teensy problem of Voldemort.

Peter is excluded from this story (I will NOT forgive him for what he did – and I just don't like him all that much), so if he's your favorite bugger off. But, this story is better without him any way.

So here's the story...


	2. Summer Draws to a Close

**DISCLAIMER: **I had a dream that I was receiving the legal rights for Harry Potter, then, sadly, the dogs had to bark and snap me out of it and make me realize my hero – J. K. Rowling – Held it all in her hands.

* * *

Chapter One – Summer Draws to a Close

* * *

Baking hot rays of sun looked down upon the stone steps of a country home. It was a rather rich place, it seemed, while the paint glistened white and the windows reflected the sun's perfect smile. Two young children were sitting upon the steps, talking, joking, and playing.

One was a girl who appeared to be eleven years old, with what appeared to be a pale pink dress that sat on her shoulders like a set of robes. She had cropped red hair that turned in around her ears, and glowing hazel eyes that seemed to shine in the sunlight. The other was a boy, namely at least four years older than the girl, who had ruffled black hair and many features of a man who would grow to be a surprising height.

If an onlooker were to glance through the mansion gates that stood half a mile away from where they were sitting, the two would seem to be just children. Normal children. Nothing more and nothing else. But, as the two children sat, looking around at their home, they knew inside that they had a secret that no one else had. This was something that would disgust people beyond belief to think that two kids could be so disgusting and weird, but, their parents exposed them to the right world and told them that what special talents they held were just that – special.

The boy stood up and walked around to the back yard of their country home, and took hold of a brown broom. Once again, if some one where to see him, they would merely guess that he simply was going to sweep the little dust off the back porch. But, once again, they would be wrong.

As the boy mounted the broom, he glanced around and saw a nearly identical older version of himself smiling an arrogant smile at him. The older man took another broom off the porch and mounted it himself, and with a light force, shot up in the air. The younger boy followed suit.

They swerved around in the air and turned and glided and wandered around in the air, sitting upon their brooms. The girl with red hair wandered out to the back porch and glanced up. She smiled a very annoyed smile at the two people on the brooms, and pulled open the door into the house. A nearly identical woman to herself was drying her hands on a towel while looking out the window at the boys on the brooms. She gave a start when she found she wasn't alone. "Yes, what is it Kathleen?" the woman asked, looking at the girl.

"Oh, nothing, Mum, I just can't stand to watch Harry and Dad play Quidditch non-stop during the day."

The woman laughed and placed the hand towel on the counter. "Would you like something to eat?" she asked, looking intently at her daughter.

"Sure," she mumbled back, taking a place at one of the barstools opposite her mother. As she mumbled her response, her mother pulled a wooden stick out of her pocket and flicked it: a wand. Within a second there was a nice pile of cookies and sandwiches along with bottles of something yellowish. "Thanks, Mom," the girl said, digging in.

"No problem," she answered, and headed out the door that her daughter had come from. She, too, looked up at the sky and saw her husband and son flying about. "JAMES!" she yelled up at them, causing a halt in this "Quidditch" they were playing.

The older man, who looked to be in his early thirties, glanced down at his wife before gliding down to her and dismounting from his broom. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, then, "Yes, Lily, dear?"

Lily giggled and looked at her handsome husband. They were the same age; the birthdays were merely a couple months apart for the couple. "Can we have lunch before you drag Harry off into the sky to work on his practice?" she asked, looking at him sincerely.

"Do I hafta?" Most people would guess that that was their son, Harry, who asked, but, when Lily gave another giggle, people would notice that it was her husband who was asking such a childish question.

"Yes," she said firmly, and turned around, thinking to herself that she was indeed right about her husband a mere fifteen years ago. When she sat in St. Mungo's after having Harry, she thought to herself that he was going to have a terrible influence upon her son. But, in a way, after Harry turned two and could walk happily and talk a jumble of nice words, she was fairly certain that Harry, to her relief, would only carry a tiny bit of James along with him in his personality. But, there were years to come for Harry.

As Harry, James and Lily shuffled back into the kitchen, Lily took another flick of her wand and four plates of lunch appeared on the dining table. Kathleen glanced at her brother as he sat down opposite her, glaring in her direction with a smug look on his face.

"What's _you're _problem?" she asked sarcastically, biting into her sandwich.

"Nothing… just you have to wait a whole year before you can join the house team, unlike myself," Harry stated, smiling at his own achievement.

Kathleen glared at him; Harry knew full well she loved to play Quidditch but he wasn't one to let her forget that she'd have to wait a year – until she entered her second year – to even think about the house team.

"Eat your lunch, guys," Lily stated, snapping her kids out of their glaring war they were competing in from across the table. "And don't start a food fight – Merlin knows your father would love to join in," she said under her breath. She glanced up to see her husband smirking guiltily, confirming her suspicions.

* * *

Hours later, when the clock chimed eight thirty, James and Harry trudged up the stairs and towards their bedrooms.

When James entered, he saw Lily sitting propped up on her pillow, reading one of her many Charms books. She looked up at his dirty figure as he came in. "Can't ever manage to stay dirt-free when playing Quidditch, now can you?" she asked, getting up and peeling James's navy blue robes off him.

"Not exactly, no," James said, walking into the bathroom to wash his face. Lily followed him, leaning against the door frame as he cleaned up. She was already ready for bed, decked out in her pajamas and slippers. He finished washing his face and began to transfer into his pajamas. "You don't have to go into the office tomorrow, do you?" she asked, looking at James.

"No. We're almost 110 percent certain that they got the named culprits. So now for us Aurors, all we have to do is work on defensive magic, which is pretty much a stay-at-home job right now. How about you?"

"No, I don't think I need to," Lily said, turning off the bathroom light and going to sit on their bed. "I only go in if I have new findings. Its pretty much a stay-at-home job too," she added as an afterthought.

"So do you think we have the day off for an outing?" Lily asked after a moment of silence, dropping James's Quidditch book in his lap.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked, looking at her with a fake-suspicious look.

"I was thinking Diagon Alley; that way we can pick up some stuff down there. You and Harry can spend your life looking at Quidditch stuff, and Kathleen and I can do some new robe shopping. Does that sound like fun?" Lily glanced at James, holding her book, open, in her hands.

"Yeah, that sounds great. And I think we could use some new balls, too," he mumbled under his breath, and began to read his book.

* * *

The next day, after breakfast, the Potter family dressed in Witch and Wizard robes stepped up to their fireplace, ready to do some much-needed shopping. After using the Floo network, they all came to a stop outside Flourish and Blotts.

James pecked Lily on the lips, gave Kathleen a hug, and he and Harry set off towards the Quidditch shop. Lily looked down at her daughter, "Okay then, what would you like to do first?"

First, Kathleen and Lily set off to get new robes, seeing as they had a shopping craze like any other girl that you could happen to pass on a normal day. Second, they stopped by Flourish and Blotts to pick up many books for "reading material" and such. They stopped outside the Owlery, when Kathleen came to a sudden halt. She looked intently at the bird that was watching her, staring at her. She watched it stare and do nothing else. "What would you name him?" Lily whispered in her daughter's ear.

"Mr. Wicker," she answered, looking at him. He gave a hoot.

"Okay then." Lily held her arm out to the bird and he stepped dutifully onto it. They carried him into the store. "Can we purchase this owl?" she asked, placing him down on the counter.

"Certainly," replied the man. He rang up the owl, gathered a cage for it, and wished them luck with it. Lily handed the owl down to her daughter who looked happily at her new pet.

They continued down the shops and entered most of them, purchasing trinkets every couple shops. They met up with James and Harry for ice cream and lunch around noon, then went wandering around the streets together, James's fingers entwined with Lily's as Kathleen and Harry wandered merrily between shops.

After another couple hours of shopping, the day became a tad boring, and they retreated to their estate to calm down and have a quiet evening.

* * *

The next day was a day of rest and relaxation for James and Lily. Lily was planning on experimenting with some new Charms as James had to go into the office for a couple hours for meetings and such.

Harry departed for a friends house across the way, flying his broomstick over the backyards; Kathleen wandered up to her room to read about the latest fashion and stars in the Wizarding world. Lily sat back in her chair, tapping her quill anxiously on the parchment, thinking _how _exactly she managed to conjure the right materials for her last assignment.

Finally letting boredom overcome her, Lily dropped the quill onto the table and looked out the window.

James and Lily had fallen in love with the view from the house, when they were house-hunting a year after Harry was born. James had practically jumped up and down when he saw the interior and stated clearly to a dazed Lily that this was the house they were going to buy.

That was fourteen years ago and they were both still deeply in love with the house.

The house was on a grassy green hill, littered with many trees and flowers. Standing on the back porch you could see in plain sight the gorgeous view overlooking the distant lake on one side, and the beautiful city on the other.

There was, of course, a Quidditch pitch for James (and now their children – Sirius included) in the center of their two acre back yard. The second Harry was old enough to mount a broom, James brought in the professionals and had them build a miniature locker room to resemble the Hogwarts ones, complete with Captain Office and Gryffindor banners. Although Lily protested that he was getting Harry's hopes up, James went on anyway, placing his own Quidditch trophies rather arrogantly in the "trophy room" of the locker room.

The house was everything to Lily. She watched her children take their first steps and say their first words within these walls. It was rather depressing to know that they'd be off learning to grow up and not need her anymore in a few short weeks.

She sighed as she packed up her papers, ready to take a walk and meet up with Alice or something. Maybe Alice would understand. After all, she and Lily were practically in the same boat.

* * *

Summer was winding to a near end, apprehension settling over the Potter's estate with excitement and slight depression. This year both their children would be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and neither of them were all too ecstatic to see their children leave. True, there was an upside to it all; for instance neither of them would be in attendance to the muggle school down the block – both Lily and James were willing to admit that had many grievances.

Lily and James had some problems, explaining to the muggle teachers of just exactly _how _one minute the chalkboard was clean and the next second it was scribbled with rude comments (James was rather proud of Harry for doing this). They also faced explaining Kathleen's ability to finish her work the second the teacher placed it in front of her.

In less than two weeks, the letters would be arriving: one for Kathleen, the other for Harry. Harry's would, of course, be the usual letter reminding him that school started on September the first, along with his list of new books and other such things. Kathleen's would be slightly different, a congratulations letter of the sort, welcoming her into Hogwarts.

Lily and James spent increasing amounts of time with their kids, making sure to cram in as much fun as possible. There was, of course, Harry and Kathleen's witch and wizard friends that came over day after day, but none the less, Lily and James were happy to see their kids happy.


	3. Hogwarts Letters

Chapter Two – Hogwarts Letters

* * *

At the sound of high pitched shrieking, Lily's eyes snapped open. She rolled over in bed, the tickle of a migraine coming to visit her head. She sighed and let out a big yawn, turning to see that James had just woken up as well.

"Morning," he said, his voice muffled by his pillow.

"Morning," Lily repeated, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek before getting out of bed.

Another squeal of delight issued from down below. Lily rolled her eyes at the sound; obviously something good happened for their kids to be so… excited.

Lily wasn't going to think much of it but when another whoop of joy was heard, it clicked in her mind.

"Hogwarts letters," she said, just loud enough for James and her to hear.

She and James glanced at each other before making a tooth-and-nail fight down the stairs. Actually, James practically dove off the landing and down the stairs as if he was diving into a swimming pool; Lily rolled her eyes and walked slowly and _maturely _down the stairs.

"Okay, let's see 'em," Lily said slowly, stifling a yawn as she entered the kitchen where Harry and Kathleen had obviously tried to make pancakes.

Kathleen leapt up from her spot at the table and brandished her own Hogwarts letter happily in her mother's face. She beamed from ear to ear, gazing at the tattered letter: she had obviously read it over and over again.

Lily congratulated her daughter then turned to look at her son who was blanching at his own letter.

"What is it, mate?" James asked, clapping Harry on the shoulder as he turned to look at the letter.

"I – uh – um," Harry stuttered, obviously not believing it. "I – uh – I – um – I – I – I got made – I got – made – I got made – uh – I got made prefect," he got out finally.

It was Lily's turn to squeal.

"Prefect!" she exclaimed, nearly choking her son in a hug. "Oh my Merlin! Prefect! Oh you're taking after me more than I thought you would! Oh! Prefect! Oh I'm so happy! Aren't you happy, Harry? Oh this makes me so PROUD! Oh! Prefect, prefect, prefect!"

"L-Lily," James said tentatively, attempting to pry Lily off their son. "Lily, I think you should get off Harry now. He – uh – I think he's choking."

And indeed he was choking. Her son had turned blue from so much hugging. He began to massage his throat as his mother finally let go of him, almost scared she'd do it again.

"Prefect!" Lily exclaimed to James, wrapping her arms around him this time.

"I was never prefect," James said, obviously thinking back to his own Hogwarts Days. "So… sorry, mate," he said, once again clapping his son on the shoulder, "but you're not a marauder anymore."

"What?" Harry asked, just a bit hurt by his father's statement.

"Remus was a marauder and he was prefect," Lily said reassuringly to Harry – and in an I-told-you-so sort of way to James.

"Well… true," he said after a minute and not able to come up with a reasonable excuse. "Alright, Harry, you're still a marauder, but you're better than your dad, that's for sure."

Harry smirked at the comment.

"Okay!" Lily said, clapping her hands. "School starts in less than a week! We need to go get Hogwarts robes, spellbooks, quills, parchment, potion ingredients, the works! So we're going to Diagon Alley again today!"

"You're going where again today?" a voice asked.

"Sirius!" Kathleen exclaimed, running up to her godfather.

"Hey Kath," he said, hugging her. "Where are you going again today?" he asked again.

"Diagon Alley," James said, picking up the list of supplies from both his kids' envelopes. "Wanna come?" he asked.

"Of course I want to come!" Sirius said a bit too happily. "Just – er – you're not going like that – are you?" he asked, studying Lily and James's appearance: they were still in their pajamas and robes.

"No," Lily said crisply. "C'mon James, lets go change quickly as not to waste the day."

"We'll be ready when you're ready!" Sirius exclaimed.

Ten minutes later the group was ready to go. They flooed once again to Diagon Alley, ready to begin their latest shopping extravaganza.

"Right," James said, taking lead for once. "Books first, I say."

They all followed James into Flourish and Blotts to gather books. Harry ran into his friend Hermione Granger as they weaved through the shelves, delaying the group as they said their hellos, introductions of Kathleen (and saying she was starting Hogwarts this year), and goodbyes. After they found Harry and Kathleen's spellbooks – and other necessary books – they set off for robes.

Walking into the shop, Lily felt James tense beside her.

"What is it dear?" she asked as Sirius and the kids wandered off to look at the many colors of robes.

"Steinhart," he growled, looking at a man who appeared to be of their age, standing beside a young boy who was trying on robes.

"Logan!" Lily said, recognizing the man and striding forward, much to James's disgust.

The man, Logan Steinhart, turned around at his name.

"Lily!" he exclaimed, seeing her and beaming. Lily greeted him with a friendly hug and stood back to admire his appearance.

"You haven't changed a bit!" she said, wagging her finger playfully at him.

"I can't say the same for yourself," he said, noticing Lily and James's kids – they looked exactly like the pair, how could anybody not? "Keeping busy, I see," he said with a wink.

"Yes, indeed I have been," she said. "You remember James, right?" she asked, pulling James – who was rather reluctant – by the sleeve over to her side.

"Oh, yes! I remember. James Potter. How could I not? Stole my woman fair and square," he said, laughing at the last bit.

"Yes," James said with a bite. "And I did a pretty decent job of it."

"Oh, James, hush," Lily said, pretending to be playful. She knew where this could go: a fistfight. And she really didn't want it to go there.

"I see you've been keeping busy yourself, Logan," Lily observed, nodding towards the boy trying on robes. "When did you get married?"

"Oh… almost twelve years ago, Elaine and I. You remember Elaine, don't you? She was a Ravenclaw. Yes, we got married. And this here is Jeremiah," he said, indicating the boy, "our son; he's starting at Hogwarts this year."

"Oh, I'm so happy for you," Lily said, smiling warmly at Logan. "That there," she said, pointing to Harry, "is our son Harry – he's entering his fifth year at Hogwarts this year – he just got made prefect. And that there," she said, indicating Kathleen, "is our daughter, Kathleen. She's our youngest and she's just starting at Hogwarts, too!"

"Well, you're children do show a remarkable resemblance to the both of you," he said, noticing their red and black hair and very precise resemblance to their parents. "I'm sure the professors have had a great deal distinguishing Harry from James – now they'll have more with Kathleen looking so much like you!"

Lily chuckled appreciatively.

"Well," she said, "maybe Jeremiah and Kathleen will be in the same house. Do you expect him to be a Gryffindor?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. He might be, seeing as he takes after me so much. Is Harry a Gryffindor?" he asked after a moment.

"Oh yes, he is," Lily said, smiling over at her son who was talking to a boy he obviously knew from Hogwarts. "We were so _thrilled _when we found out. I do hope Kathleen is a Gryffindor too," she said after a gaze at her husband.

"Well, I'm sure she will be with such magnificent parents."

"Oh, Logan, you're too kind," Lily said, punching him playfully in the arm.

"Well," Logan said after glancing back at his son, "we'd better get going. We need to get these robes and other things to buy and places to see. See you later, Lily, James," he said as they walked over to the register to pay for Jeremiah's robes.

"Lily," James hissed as soon as the door of the shop closed.

"Yes, dear?" she asked after telling Madam Malkin that they wished to buy school robes.

"Why did you have to talk to him?" he asked.

"He was here and it'd be rude not to. Besides, I haven't seen him in ages," Lily replied, beckoning Harry over to be fitted for new robes.

"Yes, but you really didn't need to talk to him," James pressed, looking around to make sure no one was listening in.

"James," Lily said exasperatedly, putting her hands on her hips. "Just because he's my ex-boyfriend doesn't mean I can't talk to him ever again. Besides," she said, leaning in closer to James so their faces were just inches apart, "even he said you stole me away from him – which you did."

"Well, just because he's married doesn't mean he's not going to look," James replied defensively, looking his wife right in the eye.

"True," Lily nodded her head in agreement. "But I'd have to be a fool to leave you – or to even look at another man."

"I'm a pretty lucky bloke, being able to be married to such a talented – not to mention," he dropped his voice, "sexy – witch."

"Yes, you are _very _lucky," Lily said, their foreheads now touching.

James grinned and kissed Lily on the lips before turning back to talk to Sirius.

* * *

They carried on through the day to finish getting robes, books, potion ingredients and many other supplies for Hogwarts. They got cauldrons, parchment, quills, ink, reading material, magazine subscriptions ("I wouldn't have made it through Hogwarts without Quidditch Weekly, Lily," Sirius said), stuff from the local joke shop ("How else is Harry going to have a bit of fun as Prefect?" James asked), a cat for Kathleen ("Mum, Mr. Wicker will be in the Owlery the entire time, I need someone in my dorm with me!" Kathleen exclaimed) and a new broomstick for Harry ("For making Prefect, you deserve a new one," Lily had said).

After a long and tiresome (made tiresome by James and Sirius's constant pranks) day, they all retired – once again – to the Potter estate. Lily shoved the kids into bed at nine, and Sirius left at nine thirty, fifteen minutes or so after Lily had escaped up the stairs for a long hot bath. With her nose just peaking out from above the water, Lily was at peace, in complete and total bliss. That is, until:

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked in her ear.

Lily started violently and whipped around – her heart beating faster than normal – to see James grinning at her, crouched down on his knees by the bathtub.

"James!" she exclaimed in loud whisper. "Don't do that! You _scared _me!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you – this time," he said, still smiling at her. "Mind if I join you?" he asked again, indicating the bath. His grin was so mischievous she knew exactly what she had in mind.

"And why should I let you join me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in question.

"Because I'm your exceptionally handsome husband who is better than anyone at Quidditch of whom you love and have had two children with," he said, already starting to undress.

"And what," Lily asked, putting her wet and soapy palm against James's soon-to-be-bare chest, "do you intend to do once you've joined me?"

James smirked. "Well," he said in a low and 'seductive' growl, "I think you know what I'm planning on doing, and," he said as an afterthought, dropping his voice to a near whisper, "I'm almost positive you like it."

Lily rolled her eyes and dipped down lower in the water, allowing James to get undressed and join her in the tub.

* * *

"I can't believe they're both leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow," Lily sniffed from her place next to the stove.

"Oh, c'mon, Lily," her friend Alice Longbottom said. "It's okay! Look at this way – you'll have more time to 'spend' with James," she said with a very large wink.

"Oh, Alice," Lily said as she flipped over the French toast in the skillet in front of her, "don't think that way. We're not _always _like that."

"And that's the key, isn't it?" she asked with a James-like-smirk. "'_Always_.'"

"Alice!" Lily snapped, looking around frantically. "Besides," she said, "its gets boring when you do it a lot."

"Oh you _bad girl_, Mrs. Potter!" Alice exclaimed, grinning at her best friend.

"Still, 'spending more time with James' doesn't make up for not having the kids around anymore," Lily said, dumping the French toast onto a plate and sprinkling powdered sugar on them.

"C'mon, Lily, you saw me when Neville left a couple years back. You had to hold on to me to prevent me running after him and pulling him off the train!" Alice said, remembering the memory.

"Yes, that's true," Lily said, also remembering that day.

"So you've got nothing to worry about. They'll be back in a little over four months for the Christmas holidays. Besides, with that new policy Dumbledore's got, you'll see the kids on Monday anyway," she said, examining her fingernails.

"What policy?" Lily asked, conjuring the rest of breakfast and placing it on the table.

"You didn't read the other letter?" Alice asked, confused.

"No," Lily said, still not catching on. "What letter?"

"It came with the Hogwarts ones – didn't you get it?"

"No, I didn't get any letter."

"It's probably here," Alice said, glancing around the kitchen for it. "Is that it?" she asked, pointing to the messy counter where all the Potter's important papers were scattered, the envelope perched on top of a high tower of other letters.

"Maybe it is," Lily said, wiping her hands off and striding over to the counter. She picked up the envelope and read:

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Potter,_

_Due to new school regulations, we believe it necessary that each parent meet with his/her child's new professors to become acquainted with that professor, their teaching style and, of course, the curriculum. _

_This meeting will take place on Monday – the day after students arrive on the Hogwarts Express. Due to the meetings, students will not partake in lessons until Tuesday, when they officially begin._

_If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either myself or Minerva McGonagall – Deputy Headmistress. _

_Yours,_

_Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore_

_Headmaster_

"Why did they make a new rule to meet with the professors?" Lily asked, stumped.

"I'm not sure, but we have to be at Hogwarts day after tomorrow to meet with them," Alice said, biting into a piece of French toast.

"Well… this is interesting," Lily said, taking a bite of French toast as well.

"Don't read too much into it, Lily," Alice said, her mouth full. "Frank said it was most likely a parent complained about their kid's detentions or something, so now they have to meet with each professor. At least we get to spend the day with our kids."

"Yeah," Lily said, thinking it was more and more likely to be Franks' story. "And we get to see Hogwarts again!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna hafta look around Gryffindor commonroom again. I wonder if anythings changed."

"Yeah, me too. I bet the Marauders will be having a field day, dashing around Hogwarts again."


	4. Meeting the Professors

Chapter Three – Meeting the Professors

* * *

"Be good, don't do anything wrong, study for your OWLs, don't forget to write." Lily was addressing each of her kids in turn as she hugged them and kissed them, making Kathleen squirm but Harry positively want to run away out of his mother's grasp.

"I love you guys!" she said as she brought them both into a back-breaking hug and kissed them both on the cheek.

"We'll see you tomorrow," James said as he hugged Kathleen goodbye. "Then we'll tell you to behave."

"See ya Dad, Mum," Harry said as he marched off towards the Hogwarts Express.

"Bye Mum, Dad," Kathleen said as Lily pushed her towards the train, her eyes filling with tears and many sniffles emitting from her.

"Oh, Lils, c'mon," James said, bringing her into a hug. "They're going to _Hogwarts_. They'll be _fine_. And now we have some more alone time," he gave her a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows very similar to what Alice had just done the previous day.

Lily let out a small giggle and kissed her husband and turned to watch the train leave.

"C'mon," James said as it turned out of sight, "let's go home."

And they both Disapparated out of Platform 9 ¾.

James, Sirius, Frank, Alice and Lily were all gathered around the Potter's living room, chatting merrily and exchanging stories that night, all preparing to leave for Hogwarts the following morning.

James and Sirius were jumping with joy, thinking they were going to be taking the Hogwarts Express again – but Lily quashed that idea and said every parent was apparating at different times of the day. Frank and Alice were meeting with the teachers between eight and nine, and Lily and James – and Sirius who was tagging along – were meeting with the professors between twelve and one.

Sirius, Frank and Alice left for home a couple hours later, leaving James and Lily to an empty house.

Lily sighed and looked around, still snuggled up to James on the couch.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking around for what distracted her attention.

"I can't believe they're _gone_. They won't be back 'till _December_," Lily said, feeling more and more depressed with every word she spoke.

"Oh, c'mon, Lily," James said for the millionth time that day. "It'll be fine! And now you have me." A long silence sat in the living room. "Speaking of me…" James purred in her ear. "How would you like to go up stairs?"

"Oh, James," Lily sighed, annoyed. "How can you think of going to sleep at a time like this?"

James smirked. "I'm not."

Lily rolled her eyes at her husband's arrogance. Of course she knew what he was talking about. Well, she had better get her own share of relaxation out of it all. "Fine," she said, kissing her husband on the cheek, "but if you want me to join you _up stairs _then you have to carry me," she finished, not wanting to drag herself up the stairs.

"My pleasure," James said, unable to keep his 'giddiness' to himself. He stood up and slipped his legs under Lily's bad and under her knees, lifting her up and kissing her on the forehead.

Walking up the stairs Lily couldn't believe this would probably be the same thing, night after night after night, now that the kids were gone. Sure she enjoyed it, but how could guys not get _bored _with it?

* * *

"James! We're RUNNING LATE! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming Lily! Hang on!"

Lily stood tapping her foot impatiently by the front door, ready to apparate to Hogwarts.

James came running down the stairs, his shirt untucked, his trainer laces undone and his robe lopsided on his shoulders.

"Oh, for heavens _sake_, James," Lily sighed, stepping forward to straighten her husband's robes, fix his shirt and tie his laces. "Where's Sirius?" she asked as she stood up and examined herself in the mirror by the door. She was rather perfect looking, actually. She was wearing long black robes and a pair of black trousers. But to even out all the black she wore a soft green t-shirt with a V-neck and a long and dangly locket she had received from James on their first date. Her hair was hanging loose and limp on her shoulders, perfectly combed and glossed, ready for the day.

"He's meeting us in Hogsmeade," James answered, checking himself out in the mirror too. James was almost positive that the seventh year boys at Hogwarts would definitely be checking Lily out; how could they not?

"Okay, then, lets go," she said, walking out of the house and locking the door magically behind James. With a pop the pair disapparated and reappeared moments later in Hogsmeade, right next to the Three Broomsticks.

Sirius stood waiting for them, leaning against the wall, looking thoroughly amused with the day. When Lily and James appeared next to him he straightened up and joined them on the walk up to Hogwarts.

The trio walked slowly up the walk towards Hogwarts castle, none of them speaking a word; they were all too busy taking in the scenery of Hogwarts to talk.

"Where's Moony?" Sirius asked after a while.

"He said he had to work; some meeting or something," James said, gazing in awe and Hogwarts.

"What a shame, Sirius said, shaking his head. "It would have been fun with him around."

"You weren't going to think of transforming and running around, were you?" Lily asked eying them with suspicion.

"No," James and Sirius replied in unison – a bit too quickly.

"Uh-huh," Lily replied sarcastically, not believing a word of it.

A moment later they came to a stop outside the Hogwarts doors. Lily took hold of the handle and pushed the door open, James and Sirius following in her wake.

They walked up the stairs, towards the Great Hall and came to a stop when they saw Professor McGonagall holding a long scroll of parchment.

"Professor McGonagall," Lily greeted her old professor.

"Lily, dear," replied McGonagall, recognizing her old pupil.

"You remember James and Sirius, right?" she asked, pulling James to her side who was looking more than a bit ashamed.

"Of course I do," she said, eying James. "How could I not? The two troublemakers always to interrupt the class."

Lily and McGonagall shared a laugh while James and Sirius exchanged a look of triumph.

"I see you've lived well, married to James," McGonagall observed, looking Lily up and down.

"Oh yes," Lily said, blushing a bit. "Its hard work at times, but he's a good husband all the same."

"Yes, I can see that. You two raised two bright children – that's proof enough."

"Speaking of," James interrupted. "Did Kathleen get sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Yes, of course she did," McGonagall said with a smile. "I hope she's better behaved than Harry at any rate."

"Well, I do believe she will be. And Harry's a bit better than James any day," Lily said with a smile.

"Yes – yes he is."

"So we're here to meet with the rest of the Professors," Lily said, getting back on track. "Where to we start?"

"Oh, yes," she answered, glancing down at her pile of parchment. "Here's your 'schedule,' which you'll follow. It lists the class and the room in case you forgot. It'll be one-on-one, so you can ask as many questions concerning anything without any other parents present. The majority of the professors are still the ones we had when you three were here, so it shouldn't be much change," she finished, handing them a scroll.

"Thank you, Professor," Lily said, glancing at it. They were to first meet with Professor Sprout.

"See you later," James said, taking off after Lily.

"I'll be wandering around!" Sirius called after them, taking off to wander the halls.

"Who're we seeing first?" James asked as they walked down towards the greenhouses.

"Professor Sprout – for Herbology."

"Oh, okay."

They met with Professor Sprout who commented on Lily and James's marriage, then about how well Harry was doing in class, although he would benefit to study a bit more and not talk nearly as much when re-potting plants. She went on and on about how she was sure Kathleen would be an exceptional student as well and after twenty minutes, they departed for History of Magic with Professor Binns, who would, as James pointed out, be a bore who wouldn't even notice they were there.

And James was much too right. Binns was boring and yawn-worthy, barely noticing them as they walked in the room, completely ignoring them until Lily gave a small cough to remind him they were still there. But, instead of being told about the curriculum and their children's progress, Binns droned on and on about some Goblin war that they learned about in fourth year. James, who didn't want to listen to Binns teach ("when we're _adults _and have learned this stuff already!" James hissed), feigned death and made many dizzy movements, allowing his head to loll around and collapsed in a theatrical way on the ground, pretending to have died of boredom. Lily still didn't allow them to leave until they were supposed to for the next professor meeting. It wasn't until James started nibbling her neck that she allowed them to dash out of the classroom – only in fear of getting caught. Not that she allowed him to continue it when they closed the door.

James and Lily waited in the hall (James was still attempting to nibble on Lily's neck – attempting) for a good time to leave for McGonagall when they would learn about _her _curriculum. Lily was positive James wouldn't try anything in her class – and they'd be kept busy all the same.

"Harry's doing well, but he does need to learn to focus a bit more," she said, shuffling through Harry's file. With a wary eye, Lily noticed it was rather thick with detention slips. "I notice he does take after James when it comes to his attention span."

"Pardon?" James asked when he heard his name. He had been resting his head in the palm of his hand, leaning his elbow on the armrest of his chair. He was staring off into space, drooling ever so slightly.

"Yes," Lily said, wanting to stomp on James's foot. "I see what you mean."

James, deciding this wasn't important, went back to staring out the window.

"He's very good at Transfiguration, still, much like his father," McGonagall went on, "and like you too, Lily, but I do advise that maybe you help him out over the summer. It would do him good to have to of the best pros at the subject help him out."

Lily blushed at being called a pro.

"We can do that," she said.

"Then in that case, I think we're done here," McGonagall said, shoving Harry's file back into her desk.

"May I ask one more question, Professor?" Lily asked, beginning to stand up.

"Certainly."

"About Kathleen… if she has any problems – in anything at all – could you please owl me at once? She's a bit shy when it comes to witchcraft and she's not too outgoing."

"Of course I can."

"Thank you."

Lily stood up to go, but noticed James was still gazing out the window, obviously having not listened to a word they said.

"James," Lily said sternly. "James," she repeated when he didn't answer. "_James_," she said, now aggravated. She closed her hand around James's wrist and tugged him out of the chair. He finally caught notice of her when she grabbed his wrist.

"Uh – thanks – er – Professor," James said quickly before running out behind Lily.

"You _really _need to pay more attention in these meetings, James," Lily said as they hurried down the hall to Charms.

"Why? I've already learned this stuff, and if Harry or Kathleen have problems, then they'll owl us. It's not that big a deal," James, said, itching the back of his neck.

"Yes, it is, James," Lily said, stopping outside the Charms door. "This is our children's' education, you know."

"What? Our parents never had these meetings and we turned out fine."

"Well, I turned out fine at any rate," Lily mumbled, pushing open the door to greet Professor Flitwick.

The day went on like that, meeting teacher after teacher. Finally, it came time to meet their second to last professor of the day.

"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts – apparently there's a new professor for that – and then we have Potions, then we're free to go home," Lily yawned, walking slowly towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

"Who's teaching these classes?" James asked as they straightened their robes once again.

"I'm not sure. Flitwick said they were new professors."

"Oh, okay."

They entered the room swiftly and "coolly" with ease, but not too much so. James bumped into Lily's side, seeing as she stopped abruptly without notice.

"Remus!" she exclaimed, striding forward to take her friend into a hug.

James looked up and, indeed, it was Remus Lupin, fellow marauder.

"Remus, mate," James said, shaking hands with him.

"What're you doing teaching here, Remus?" Lily asked, taking in his appearance.

"Oh, Dumbledore needed a new teacher, so I offered to take it up," Remus answered, sitting down behind the desk.

"Moony, I never thought I'd see you teaching," James said, taking a seat opposite Remus.

"Neither did I," he admitted, leaning back in his chair.

The group sat in silence for a moment, not all too sure of what to say.

"So – er -" Lily began. "How about the – um – curriculum?"

"Yes," Remus said, getting back on track, "the curriculum."

So the next half hour passed in learning about what Harry and his classmates would study that year as well as Kathleen and her classmates. They asked questions and Remus answered. Remus asked occasional questions, but there wasn't much need – he had been present the entire time Harry and Kathleen had grown up. It wasn't that hard to know their strong and weak points, etc, etc, etc.

"Well," James said, glancing at his wrist watch: two forty-five, "we'd best be going. We still have to meet with the potions master."

"Have fun," Remus replied, seeing them to the office door.

"Maybe you can drop by our place for Christmas?" Lily asked, stopping to give him one last hug.

"I'd be delighted."

"See you later then," James said and one more brief hug later, Lily and James were setting off towards the dungeons.

"I wonder why he said 'good luck,'" Lily pondered aloud.

"I don't know… he was just wishing us… I don't know – don't ask me," James said as they descended the steps.

"Interesting," Lily said, turning the corner.

As they reached the potions door, they both exchanged glances. Potions never was a great class. Sure, Slughorn made it better – but they always had Potions with the Slytherins – always making Potions the worst class ever.

James pushed open the door and stood back for Lily to enter. But before Lily could extend her hand to shake the new professor's hand, she felt James tense beside her and knew he had instinctly grasped his wand under his robes.


	5. Old Enemies Meet Again

**Author's Note:** Please bare with me here. The POV _will _start to change next chapter, just so you don't get bored. And, no, it doesn't stick with just Lily and James. It's going to bounce between Kathleen, Harry, Snape, Lily, James, Remus, Dumbledore, McGonagall and other characters too, once it gets going. So in a chapter it'll start to take more shape. I SWEAR there's a good plot to this.

* * *

Chapter Four – Old Enemies Meet Again

* * *

"_Snivellus_," James hissed from his spot next to Lily. 

"James – don't," Lily instructed, moving forward in a business-like manner.

"Hello," she said sweetly, extending her hand to shake with Snape's.

She expected him to look nastily down at her hand and not shake it, but to her surprise he extended his own hand and shook hers with a firm grasp.

James, seeing this, moved to Lily's side, keeping less than an inch between their shoulders.

"Lily and James Potter," Lily said, still looking directly in Snape's eyes. He looked a bit more mature – and – if it was possible – a bit softer in the heart.

"Yes, I guessed," Snape said. He too was still looking Lily in the eye.

"What're _you _doing, teaching here, _Snivellus_?" James asked icily, moving still closer to Lily. Snape had to know Lily was his – his possession – not Snape's.

Lily dropped her hand which was still shaking Snape's and moved to sit down in one of the seats opposite Snape's desk. Snape sat in his own seat on the other side, and James sat down quickly next to Lily.

"Long time, no see," Lily said, glancing around the office. It was _very _full of odd things – slimy things too that she really didn't want to know the name of.

"Yes, I've been busy," Snape said, pulling out a file.

"Doing what?" Lily asked conversationally.

"This and that – mainly travel."

"Oh, sounds interesting."

"Very."

"And what," James asked again, seeing as Snape never answered his question, "are you doing here?"

"Teaching, Potter," Snape said icily. "Teaching."

"I see that your son," Snape continued, opening the file, "has had reasonable marks the past four years with Professor Butcham – the potions master before myself, he retired end of last year," Snape said, answering Lily's unasked question.

"The curriculum?" she asked, glancing down at the papers on Snape's desk.

"Yes," Snape continued, glancing up and seeing James curl his hands into fists and begin to seethe with anger. "It's basically," he said, turning back to the papers, "the exact coursework we had ourselves in our fifth year. Nothing too drastic but nothing too primary. Its going to be simple potions that require much concentration – more complicated potions will be taken up next year – so there should be nothing of new interest that you are unaware of," he finished, disregarding James entirely.

The next twenty or so minutes followed in much the same pattern; Lily and Snape discussed the potions and in what order they were to be taught, how Snape taught and how the exams would be taken. Every question under the sun was asked and answered as James continually tensed in his chair, glowering at Snape and casting glances at Lily every couple minutes.

"And," Lily asked, almost ready to leave – she had all the information she needed, "what do you cover in the first year classes?" she finished, crossing her legs neatly.

"First year?" Snape asked, confused.

"Yes, first year."

"Why first year?"

"Oh, I see you probably didn't get notified. Our daughter – Kathleen – is in first year this year. What are you covering in those classes?" Lily asked, straightening the problem.

"Oh," Snape said, catching on. He obviously didn't know they had a daughter as well. "Well, we'll be covering the very basics…" he said, droning on into a brief summary of the coursework for first year.

Another half hour later and they left. They stopped by Gryffindor common room to say hello to Kathleen and Harry – who was obviously doing something wrong, for he shut up the second he saw his parents – and they disapparated back to their estate.

It was around five o'clock when they returned to their bedroom, ready to shower, eat and crawl into bed. But obviously that wasn't on James's mind. No, nothing dirty either.

"Lily, can I ask you something?" James asked as she changed into her pajamas after eating.

"Sure, honey, what is it?"

"Well… have you – um – have you…?"

"Have I what?"

"Are you – are you having an affair?" he asked, the sadness dropping like a brick in his stomach.

"A what?" she asked, confused.

"An affair. Are – you – having – an – affair?" he asked, growing more certain that she was.

"Why would I be having an affair?" she asked as she pulled back the covers of the bed.

"That's not the point," James said, brushing away her question. "Are – you – having – an – affair?" he asked one more time.

"Why are you asking, James?" Lily asked, walking up to her husband who took a step back from her.

"Because of the way you were talking to Snivellus back there. It seemed like you two were nice and cozy," James said evilly, glaring at his wife.

"Am I having an affair with Snape?" she asked, wondering why he would assume that.

"Have you _ever _had an affair with him – or anyone else?" James asked, now feeling very sick to his stomach.

"NO!" Lily said – a bit too quickly in James's mind.

"Yes you are," he declared.

"No. I'm. Not!"

"Yes. You. Are."

"James! Why don't you _trust _me?" she asked, getting very mad.

"Because you're having an affair with Snape!" he bellowed at her.

"You _don't _trust me, do you?" she asked.

"Quite frankly, no, I don't."

"I am not having an affair with Snape – nor have I ever – or with anyone else for that matter! NOW YOU CAN GET YOUR BIG HEADED ARROGANT SELF OUT OF THIS ROOM," she yelled, now spitting mad, "BEFORE I HEX ANYTHING OFF FOR YOU!"

"You shouldn't be getting mad, Lily," he said, feeling his own temper rising. "I'm not the one _cheating_."

"GET OUT OF THIS ROOM!" Lily yelled at him.

"I will not," James stated firmly. "I am loyal to you whereas you are not!"

"You can go shove loyalty up your arse, James," Lily hissed, coming closer to him. "I don't know what the bloody hell is your problem, but you had better get it together by tomorrow morning or – you – are – out – of – this – house – entirely," she said, letting the words sink in. "I am _not _cheating on you nor have I ever, so now that you know that _GET THE HELL OUT OF THIS ROOM!" _she roared, pushing him towards the door.

"You can't tell me to get out of h -" James said, being cut off.

"LIKE HELL I CAN!" she yelled, flicking her wand, conjuring a pillow and blanket and throwing them at him. "YOU CAN SLEEP ON THE BLOODY COUCH TONIGHT!" she screamed, pushing him out the door and slamming it shut, making sure to lock it properly before sliding down the wall, shaking, letting the tears fall down her cheek.

* * *

**(Author's Note: Aha! I told you! Here it starts changing POVs)**

James stood facing his bedroom door, utterly stumped, honestly not knowing what he had done. Well, he knew what he had done, but he didn't know _why _he did it. How could he possibly assume that Lily was – or ever had – having an affair? She wasn't that kind of person and she was a more than caring and loving wife. So there he went, yelling at her and accusing her of having an affair with Snape _– Snape _of all people – when she was just being a nice person, talking to him.

Still facing the door, gaping like a fish, James heard the not-so-familiar sniffles coming from the other side. He put his ear to the door to listen as Lily cried, and he knew all too well that she was probably shaking as each tear slid down her cheek. With a depressed sigh James made his way down the stairs and onto the couch. He didn't know how he'd messed it all up so quickly, but he wanted more than anything to fix it.

* * *

Lily woke up sometime around one in the morning, tossing and turning, absolutely unable to go to bed. She was wondering – in the back of her head – how she'd managed to not wake up James. But, rolling over in bed she remembered she couldn't possibly wake up James, seeing as he wasn't even there. 

She sighed, wondering what she was going to do. But love won over her will to make him suffer. She slid out of bed and walked slowly down the stairs. Quietly, she snuck into the living and over to the couch where James had his eyes wide open, obviously not being able to sleep either.

James glanced at her as he saw her shadow fall over his blanket. Wordlessly he pulled back the blanket and Lily sat down then lied down, snuggling up to James. It was all better and they both knew it. It as unspoken but sure. James wrapped his arms around Lily's waist and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"I can't believe you got made prefect too!" 

"Yes, I know, I can't believe it either."

"Oh! That means we both get to patrol together!"

"Yes, I know."

"Oh! I'm so happy!"

"That's great."

"I just can't believe it."

"Do you think I'm stupid or something?"

"No! Why?"

"Because you keep saying 'I can't believe it!'"

"Oh! I'm sorry Harry!"

"That's alright!"

"I'm just so happy!"

"Can you do me a favor then?"

"Of course I can!"

"Get off me and quit choking me with hugs. My mum did that enough last week."

"Oh, sorry Harry."

"It's okay Hermione."

"I'm just so -"

"Hermione! Stop it! He's had enough!"

"Fine, Ron, I'll stop."

"C'mon, Ron lets go upstairs. Classes start tomorrow and I need to bang my head against the wall a couple times to numb myself."

"Sure."

"See you Hermione."

"Yeah, see you."

* * *

**Rambling from your author: **Hey guys. This story has multiple POVs and it gets better as it goes. It has a VERY slow beginning but it does get better. Just to tell you what might come of this story, I'm going to give you sneak peak: 

-- The Marauders will go out on another adventure with their pal Moony.

-- Snape has a couple opinions on the Potters – and flashbacks of Evans.

-- Harry gets a GF and gets caught – gasp – snogging.

-- Kathleen has a mini problem

-- An old treasure comes back into play

These things will come very shortly, so stay tuned! I hope you enjoy this! Oh, and in case you didn't read my ramblings in the beginning – Peter doesn't really exist in this story. I have a very big grudge against him. Let's pretend he got ran over a bus, shall we? Next update soon to come!


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